Ah Craigslist…how I hate thee. Full of severely weird people selling $20 yard sale items for $100 because they aren’t classy enough to have an eBay account.
But…once in a while…..
Picked up a few of these that were only a couple years old for $50/ea. Got ’em on the charger now. (By the by, I’ve been very pleased with the Schumacher brand of chargers.)
This is part of a small project I’ve been wanting to do. I want to have a small battery bank that I can use for running emergency lighting and communications equipment. Doesn’t have to be terribly fancy, but it does need to be fairly simple and reliable. We’ll see how it goes.
If I ever get to build my own house…..A small- to moderate-size battery bank feeding one particular circuit: Cooper Wiring makes a selection of LED night lights available in different formats. All fit a 2X3 box (or one receptacle/switch space in a larger box), one is a 2/3 night light (NL) with a horizontal 1/3 switch to control a circuit, one has a 2/3 NL with a 1/3 120V receptacle, one is all NL. They’re output adjustable by pressing and holding the NL lens, a couple infinitely variable between dim and bright, the rest L-M-H, and once programmed can be quickly turned off and back on at that level just by pressing the NL lens. Current draw at 120V is, as best I can tell, 1 watt or less for all versions – it’s so low my fancy VOM will not reliably measure it.
That one battery-powered circuit would be relay controlled so it could be turned off (or back on) with wall switches in multiple locations (I’m partial to Crydom solid state relays) if one suddenly needed full dark.
When on, the NLs could be brightness adjusted to provide just enough light for navigation and target identification (silhouetting, creating shadows, or very low intensity direct lighting) as in hallway, kitchen, foyer or living room ceilings, or limited activity not requiring brighter lighting as in bathroom ceilings.
The entire circuit could be extinguished or restarted with one of the several wall switches controlling the relay, and/or individual lights extinguished or restarted by pressing the NL lens. High ceilings would require an extension, like a wooden rod.
It looks like the batteries you found, kept charged with a solar panel, might be perfect for the job.
I have those Cooper lights. Highly recommended but they are a tight fit in a regular box.
Many years ago (1992), I purchased a CINVA-RAM block press for $100 at a Thrifty Nickel ad in San Antonio. Given soil and concrete mixed with water, it makes DIY soil cement block units for building and other construction. Never have used it except for some minor backyard projects (chiminea and outdoor fireplace cooker).
You just never know about those things.